Struggling to match teammate Max Verstappen’s performance level coupled with the arrival of younger but talented juniors, Sergio Perez has become the subject of speculations surrounding his future in Red Bull.
For a top team such as Red Bull, failing to become a stellar teammate of a defending World Champion appears to be a mortifying scenario. Many reports examine what could possibly make Perez victim to such a rapidly downward trend.
Throughout this season, Perez has failed to make it past Q1 appearances on several outings. To make matters worse, midfield teams such as Haas and Williams have frequently outqualified him. Interestingly, it was the talented rookies who drove those cars.
Perez’s standing in the next season ended up being one of the widely discussed headlines in the current driver market.
He has previously shut down retirement rumours, but his poor run-in form has not fully silenced them.
This came into criticism, without a doubt some came from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. Nearly every week, insights into the Mexican’s potential departure fuel the rumours of a younger talent replacing Perez.
His contract is set to end in 2026, the year when the implementation of the new technical regulations begins. But with little to no signs of improvement derived from him over time, that may trigger an earlier exit than what was written on his contract.
Juniors waiting in the wings
Now that juniors Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson arrived in F1 and stunned many with their driving talents, this further presents a threat to Perez’s future in Formula One.
The juniors competing alongside Perez this year were eager and highly motivated. Their impressive racing resume has turned the heads of team principals.
Being Logan Sargaent’s replacement, Franco Colapinto has been delivering outstanding results so far. This led many to believe that Williams finally provided a teammate of equal levels to Alex Albon. In just six races, the Argentinian has already scored four career points.
From there onwards, he has caught the attention of several teams. The list of potential candidates for future full-time F1 roles saw his name in it. Colapinto has in fact sparked the interest of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Another junior hoping to achieve a similar dream as Colapinto was Liam Lawson, now deputising for Daniel Ricciardo twice. Also delivering stunning performances, he has also become one of the main choices for the second Red Bull seat.
The on-track feud made it even worse for Perez. After Lawson’s clash with the Mexican driver, he struggled to boost the faith of his home crowd when he finished P17.
The P17 finish was the last position of the race as three drivers had to retire from the race. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a cooling issue, while Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda were involved in a collision in the first few laps of the race.
Red Bull and RB reserve Isack Hadjar is also a strong contender for the coveted seat. Four wins and three podiums alongside his second place in the Formula 2 standings showcase a great record for the candidacy.
A tad older option to replace Perez is Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson’s current teammate. Decent points under the belt also place him into one of the potentials to occupy Perez’s seat in Red Bull.
The younger, less experienced juniors came and made the most out of their F1 stints. Colapinto and Lawson have often qualified into Q2 and scored points. That has further opened up their future in Red Bull next year.
With many teams beginning to eye the juniors more often than Perez for the future, this may not bode well for him.
Poor performance levels
Sergio Perez opened up his campaign this year with a string of strong performances. Besides three podiums, he landed himself in the top five positions. Many in the paddock convinced it could be the start of another year of Red Bull dominance.
Although in Imola, he unfortunately slipped into eighth place due to poor tyre strategy. Due to his excellent results before this round, it was initially brushed off as an outlier situation.
“I think we just had a one-off, even though the weekend has been strong all the way to quali, […] Unfortunately we just didn’t manage to get a proper qualifying.” – Sergio Perez’s reaction on his Imola results.
He then dropped to third in the Drivers’ standings, allowing Charles Leclerc to temporarily take over second, before Lando Norris. Little did we know it was an ominous sign of a performance decline for the Mexican.
He faced two consecutive retirements in Monaco and Canada, a double blow to his record. Taking up less than ten points for nearly every round left a huge gap in terms of performance levels for Red Bull. In contrast, his teammate Max Verstappen has always been on the top of the timesheets.
Status of his sponsorship commitments
After a disastrous weekend on his home soil, this raised questions of whether any sponsorships were still willing to commit to him.
Driver results and their sponsorships go hand-in-hand. One common knowledge of sponsors is that they are mostly or highly results-based. As long as a driver delivers impressive results, sponsors will continue to finance that driver’s career.
However, the Mexican’s main sponsor, local billionaire Carlos Slim, has maintained his stance on continuing to sponsor Perez. Regardless of how the driver’s future turned out.
“The issue of Checo’s contract is independent of the issue of our sponsorship, it has always been like that since he signed with the team.
“But if there was no longer the opportunity to continue with the team, we would certainly continue with Checo. The intention is to continue with Checo, wherever he is, we will be with him.” – Slim told ESPN.
However, there is also the question of whether Red Bull need the sponsorship that Perez brings in more than they need results.
“It has always been said that Checo is valuable because of the sponsorship he brings. Do they need it? I’d be surprised if Red Bull really needed it.
“What the team does need is someone who can perform in the car up against Max. The way Liam has come in and driven very well you’d think he would be in with a shot.
“Yuki has also driven very well and perhaps should have been on the podium on Sunday. He is also a good shout. I have been very impressed with his improvement.
“He hasn’t earned the seat for next year. If Red Bull are really serious about the Constructors’ championship, they have to have a second driver who is going to pull his weight.
“Liam or Yuki should get the chance.” – F1 driver and steward at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Johnny Herbert speaking to SafestBettingSites.co.uk.
Conclusion
Mid-season driver changes are not a new strategy for Red Bull. The drivers that had to face the unfortunate untimely sacking have currently either driven for other F1 teams or left the sport entirely.
Compared to other teams, Red Bull has set higher standards of what they look for in a driver. Especially when they have successfully produced racing aces such as Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen. Not to mention, a driver of high calibre could be a reliable teammate to Max Verstappen.
If his F1 departure in 2025 is unavoidable, it may or may not echo that of his former colleague Daniel Ricciardo, who left mid-season. The only thing he could do now is regain the highly sought-after race pace and repeat the results of the early season. That is if he truly wants to prolong his stay in the sport.
